Fire at Rashtravadi Shivsena officeParty suspects conspiracyNew Delhi, November 4
A fire broke out at the office of the Rashtravadi Shivsena in North East Delhi today, a day after its workers vandalised the Maharashtra
Sadan. The fire was reported at the Shahadra-based office of the party around 9 am. “We had received a fire call from Rashtravadi ShivSena office at 9 am and immediately five fire tenders were rushed to the spot.

Hospitals breed fatal infections
New Delhi, November 4
The quality of health care is still at developmental stage in India, despite India spending a staggering 18 per cent of GDP in the health care industry in comparison to 16 per cent in the US and 8 per cent in the UK.
The health care centres in Delhi and elsewhere have no doubt come up with
specialised care, but Hospital Associated Infections (HAIs) have become a
growing medico-surgical concern.

Report blames contractor for Metro mishap
New Delhi, November 4
The high-level technical committee constituted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to inquire into the collapse of the launching girder in Laxmi Nagar on October 19 today said that technical failure compounded by negligence on the part of the contractor M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd led to the accident.

Draw for Noida plots from todayMany names missing from list
Noida, November 4
About 1.75 lakh applicants for the Noida Residential Scheme-2004 are waiting for the results of the much-delayed draw of the scheme slated to be held from November 5 to November 8, 2008.

Gurgaon gears up for mega lok adalat on Dec 20, 21
Gurgaon, November 4
A mega lok adalat will be held at Gurgaon on December 20 and 21. It has been given the name of “Samadhan-2008” as all types of cases which can be solved amicably through mutual consent can be got redressed at this lok
adalat.

Women keep fast to celebrate Chhath
New Delhi, November 4
Folk songs sung in honour of ‘Surya Dev’ and ‘Chhathi Maiyya’ rent the air as thousands of migrant Biharis celebrated the annual Chhath festival by paying obeisance to the Sun god on the banks of the river Yamuna here.

New Delhi, November 4
A 45-year-old assistant commandant of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a service pistol at Chanakyapuri in the afternoon today. He was posted with the 12th battalion of
RAC.
Delhi police personnel carry the body of assistant
commander with Rajasthan police, Mahender Singh, who committed suicide at his room
in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Disney creatures dance to Bollywood beats
New Delhi, November 4
Delhiites today had a unique rendezvous with one of their favourite sets of entertainers—the Mickey Mouse and friends, namely Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck, when “The Mickey Mouse Show” offered a lovely treat to all at Siri Fort Auditorium.Disney goes
desi: Cartoon characters Mickey, Minnie and others perform at a programme
in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo

Delhi Poll SceneBJP, Cong woo Biharis on puja
New Delhi, November 4
The Chhath Puja has came as an occasion for various political parties to woo voters of
Poorvanchal, particularly of Bihar for the assembly elections in Delhi. This is for the first time this religious occasion has come just before the assembly elections.

Kabir Nagar temple priest held for raping minor
New Delhi, November 4
A six-year-old girl was allegedly raped by a 23-year-old priest in the Shahadra area of North East Delhi last evening.
The police arrested the priest Ishawar after the girl’s father lodged a complaint against him at Shahadra police station.

Members of the Sikh community protest at Jantar Mantar highlighting injustice to the families of Sikhs killed in 1984 riots and burning of the holy book, Guru Granth Sahib, in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Vijay Jolly, BJP candidate from New Delhi, along with former cricketer Kirti Azad and party supporters during a protest against his opposition party leader Sheila
Dikshit, for the hike in prices of
essential commodities, at Gole Market in New Delhi on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Manas Ranjan Bhui

Acid man strikes yet again
New Delhi, November 4
A 20-year-old woman was injured on Tuesday in an acid attack in Delhi. This is the third such incident in the area in the past one month and the police claims that it is the handiwork of a “maniac on the prowl”.

Protest against students’ killingFaridabad, November 4
Activists of the Akhil Bharthiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Indian National Students’ Organisation
(INSO), the student wings of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the

Separate pay panel for armymen sought
New Delhi, November 4
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’s ex-servicemen cell today demanded that the Centre should constitute a separate defence pay commission for serving defence personnel and to resolve issues of their pension and other welfare measures, said chairman of the cell, Major Dr T. C. Rao
(retd).

Film stars to cheer runners
New Delhi, November 4
Bollywood stars and celebrated sportspersons would cheer hundreds of senior citizens participating in the Harmony Senior Citizens Run here on November 9. They include Kajol and Ajay Devgan, bronze medalist of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sushil Kumar and Asian gold medallist Rajiv Tomar.

No paper filed on day 1
New Delhi, November 4
All the returning officers in 70 assembly constituencies were sitting idle today as no candidate came to file nomination papers, the first day of submitting the papers.
Subdivisional magistrates have been given the responsibility of returning officers, a spokesman of the Delhi election office said.

New Delhi, November 4
A fire broke out at the office of the Rashtravadi Shivsena in North East Delhi today, a day after its workers vandalised the Maharashtra
Sadan.

The fire was reported at the Shahadra-based office of the party around 9 am. “We had received a fire call from Rashtravadi ShivSena office at 9 am and immediately five fire tenders were rushed to the spot. It was a minor fire and nobody was injured in the incident,” said a fire official.

According to fire officials, the cause of the fire could not be ascertained. If not controlled in time, the cloud of thick smoke emitting out of the office could have caused much damage, the officials added.

The office bearers of the Rashtravadi
Shivsena, however, suspect a conspiracy behind the fire. Just yesterday, a group of people from the Rashtravadi
Shivsena, a breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena, had vandalised the Maharashtra Sadan here demanding the arrest of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray for running an anti-North Indian campaign in
Maharashtra.

And so, Rashtravadi Shivsena leaders suspect that the fire could be the work of an outsider who wanted to cause damage to avenge yesterday’s vandalism.

“We can not be sure as to what caused the fire. But we need to make sure that some miscreants did not try to burn the office. Office bearers are being questioned and hopefully the police would be able to reach a conclusion,” said a Rashtravadi Shivsena Party worker.

New Delhi, November 4
The quality of health care is still at developmental stage in India, despite India spending a staggering 18 per cent of GDP in the health care industry in comparison to 16 per cent in the US and 8 per cent in the UK. The health care centres in Delhi and elsewhere have no doubt come up with specialised care, but Hospital Associated Infections
(HAIs) have become a growing medico-surgical concern. Patients acquire HAIs during their treatment tenure in hospitals and studies indicate that 30 per cent of these infections are fatal.

One in 10 patients suffers from nosocomical and medical-device related infections pose the highest risk in developing countries like India. Studies conducted by International Nosocomical Infection Control Consortium indicate that the device-associated infections
(DAIs) are common in 55 intensive care units of eight developing nations, including India.

“The crude mortality rates for patients with DAIs like pneumonia, sepsis etc. ranged from 35 per cent to 45 per cent. The study by the American Consortium points out that high incidences of HAIs found were also in some preeminent medical centres in India, which project themselves as being committed to hospital infection control,” said Prof Martin
Leuwer, head of Clinical Sciences and chair of Anaethesia of Liverpool University (UK) at a one-to-one interaction session here in the Capital.

Prof Martin explained, “The human body is a closed system and hospitals in India use the traditional open fusion systems; consequently, patients are under potential threat of acquiring secondary infections from harmful microbes, which multiply exponentially. This further complicates the recovery process. Such dangers can be averted to some extent by using Closed System Technologies
(CSTs) for treating patients, which is almost 100 per cent in the US and Scandinavian countries.”

Inadequacy of funds and resources pose a major hurdle in infection control in most developing countries, with nurse-to-patient staffing ratios often much lower on average than those in the US or European hospitals. Besides, they do not have proper laws for mandating health care infection control
programmes. Adding, he said, about 80 per cent of all HAIs can be prevented with the help of proper infection control tools and methods. CSTs are a logical consequence and have registered tremendous success in bringing down the HAIs along with the cost of the treatment.

HAIs are a burden that the Indian health care system cannot afford. Studies have suggested that treatment costs shoot up due to
HAIs, which forces the patients to stay in hospitals for longer duration and on top of that the patients have to consume expensive antibiotics. “Though using CSTs in IV fluids might increase the cost by Rs 500-600, costing Rs 35-40 per case as against the open fusion system’s Rs 8-9, its wider adoption would significantly lower the cost of treatment,” said Arun
Mudgal, the business unit head of B Braun, the second company in India to come up with IV containers based on CST.

Prof Martin pointed out that in India, HAIs result primarily due to the lack of personal care hygiene, besides technological limitations. Here, the hospital wards are accessible by almost everybody and hand hygiene greatly varies in most
centres. “Teaching and training programmes ought to be organised, and an integrated infection control programme that includes surveillance of health care associated infections can reduce the incidence of infection by as much as 30 per cent and can lead to reduced health care costs as well,” said Prof Martin.

Emphasising a meticulous hygiene and holistic approach to health care, Prof Martin said that the components of a reasonable module have to be combined and prevention concepts have to be brought into force.

New Delhi, November 4
The high-level technical committee constituted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to inquire into the collapse of the launching girder in Laxmi Nagar on October 19 today said that technical failure compounded by negligence on the part of the contractor M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd led to the accident.

The accident that killed 2 (a contractor’s worker and a Blueline bus driver) and injured 12, took place at 7.05 am when the launching girder was lifting pre-cast segments between piers 39 and 40 on Vikas Marg.

The committee has come to the conclusion that the accident happened due to the falling of the left side front tubular column.

The tubular column consists of two tubes with telescoping arrangement. This is to obtain the correct height of the supporting column. There are holes provided in the outer tube and inner tube and these two tubes are locked in position by inserting 100 mm steel pins through pre-drilled holes.

To carry the desired weight on the supporting column, a minimum of 10 pins are required to be inserted. However, according to the report, the evidence at site showed that not more than four pins were inserted. It was also found that the holes of the outer tube, which should match precisely with the holes of the inner tube for inserting of the pins, were enlarged by gas cutting causing different loads being taken by each pin.

“The accident was, therefore, due to the omission and carelessness on the part of the contractor’s workers in failing to insert a minimum of 10 pins for each column and making the pins ineffective by enlarging the matching holes of the outer tube,” said DMRC spokesman Anuj Dayal.

Regarding the action taken by DMRC, Dayal said that as the accident was due to carelessness and omission by the contractor M/s Afcons Infrastructure Ltd., the DMRC has decided to issue a show-cause notice to the contractor for blacklisting in all DMRC’s works.

“DMRC has already sacked the asstt. engineer and the jr. engineer, responsible for the work, for failure to ensure that the contractor had taken all the precautions at the work site. This is in addition to a fine of Rs 10 lakh already slapped on the contractor,” he added.

The DMRC has already payed Rs 5 lakh to each of the deceased, Rs 2 lakh to the grievously injured persons and Rs 50,000 to the other injured persons, in addition to meeting the funeral and other incidental expenses of the two deceased and the entire medical expenses of the injured.

In addition, the affected workers will get compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act.

“There were 19 launching girders in operation on that fateful day. The DMRC has suspended works on all launching sites. All girders are now being inspected by a special technical team including the original designers of these girders and launching operations will be restarted only after a their certification. Launching operations have started on 12 of these launching girders so far.,” he added.

Noida, November 4
About 1.75 lakh applicants for the Noida Residential Scheme-2004 are waiting for the results of the much-delayed draw of the scheme slated to be held from November 5 to November 8, 2008.

Even before the draw, the names of many applicants have been found missing. The applicants have lodged a protest in this regard with L.K. Jha, in-charge of residential draw. Cases pertain to Sector-1 resident Dr Inder Sengar for category III and Ajay Kumar Category II.

Then there are Pramod K Chaudhari and Brijinder Singh Sodhi who had applied for category-III. Their names are also missing from the list.

Though Noida Authority is ready to hold the draw for 1250 plots, allotment will be made for 1200 plots only, according to reliable sources. No new names have been added to the list of reserve category applicants from which some names were deleted.

Two officer-members of the draw committee have stayed put in a local hotel for about a week. These members have been acquainted with even the minutest points of the draw.

The first draw being held on November 5 will be for 450 sq m plots and on November 6 for 112 sq m plots, on November 7 draw for plots sizes of 162 sq m and 200 sq m will be held and on November 8, the last day, draw for plot sizes 250 sq m and 300 sq m will be taken out in Noida Stadium from 8 am onwards.

The most intricate problem in this draw pertains to the reserve category plots. There are 625 reserve and 625 general category plots and the total number of plots is 1250. Out of all the four reserve categories change has been made in the industrial and Kisan (farmers) quota applicants. Certain names had been stuck off from the list as they were found to be violating the Noida Authority rules and criteria. Full details of this list have not been made available to the applicants yet.

As a rule, as many new names should have been added to the list as were deleted, but this may not be done in this draw. In this connection members of the high-level committee appear to be punishing the applicants and trying to save the plots.

The committee members have taken a stance that they do not have time to offer explanations to the applicants.

Since the CBI and the draw committee members have to present their case in the High Court on November 7, preparations for the draw are being made by the Noida Authority staff without any controversy to crop up. But controversies are bound to arise.

For example, nobody appears to have the answer to the question as to what will happen to 50 plots after allotting the plots to 1200 successful applicants.

Noida Authority officers are keeping mum on this and some other issues while alluding to the draw committee members who are busy understanding the finer points of the whole exercise pertaining to the draw of Noida Residential Scheme-2004.

Gurgaon, November 4
A mega lok adalat will be held at Gurgaon on December 20 and 21. It has been given the name of “Samadhan-2008” as all types of cases which can be solved amicably through mutual consent can be got redressed at this lok adalat.

She said the list of cases pending with various departments would be prepared and of these, the cases which can be solved with mutual consent would be sorted out. Then, this list of cases would be sent to Chandigarh by December 1. The deputy commissioner revealed that chief secretary Dharambir today held a meeting with all deputy commissioners through video-conferencing for making this mega lok adalat a success.

Umashankar said the chief secretary had said that the cases relating to HUDA and police were also likely to be included for redress in this Mega Lok Adalat. He has also pointed out that a number of mutation cases were pending with the revenue officers and majority of these could be solved in the lok adalat.

For this, the entire revenue machinery needs to be geared up. The CS has also said that the cases pertaining to numberdari, consolidation, partition, rehabilitation, public premises can also be settled in the mega lok adalat.

Besides, he has asked the officers having judicial and semi-judicial powers to try to solve as many cases as possible so that the maximum number of people are benefited. The CS has directed the officers of the irrigation and PWD departments that the land acquired by them should be mutated in favour of the department.

The officers of these departments need to launch a drive for solving maximum number of cases through this lok adalat as a number of Tawaan cases under the Canal Act were pending with the Irrigation Department. The commissioner of Gurgaon division, D.P.S. Nagal apprised the CS in video-conferencing that 19 departments had been identified which would be involved in settling maximum number of cases.

The DC said the district administration would monitor the cases closely. She said that efforts would be made to settle the cases pertaining to domestic violence out of court as these cases affect families.

She said that it is a golden opportunity for getting the cases redressed in the lok adalat and people whose cases were pending in different judicial courts or with various officers of executive should avail this opportunity.

New Delhi, November 4
Folk songs sung in honour of ‘Surya Dev’ and ‘Chhathi Maiyya’ rent the air as thousands of migrant Biharis celebrated the annual Chhath festival by paying obeisance to the Sun god on the banks of the river Yamuna here.

Hundreds of women observed fast in the city and worshipped sun God praying for the well-being of their family. The festival is celebrated with the traditional pomp and show with homes lit up and decorated.

Worshippers observing fast from dawn to dusk crowded on the banks of the Yamuna for the ritual bathing and worshipped Sun god offering fruit and thekua (Chhath prasad).

The celebration is believed to have begun from the time of Dwapar Yuga, when the five Pandavs in exile had worshipped the sun, asking for victory in the Mahabharata.

“I enjoy this festival very much. We get to do a lot of shopping and also enjoy eating lots of home prepared delicious sweets,” says Anmol (8) celebrating Chhath puja.

Delhi government this year has made special arrangements like erection of tents, lights and sanitations at 28 places including ghats at the Yamuna at Kalindi Kunj, Wazirabad, Geeta Colony and ITO Bridge to make it comfortable for large number of devout thronging these sites to offer prayers.

The preparation for Chhath puja starts two days before the event. The first day is known as “Nahaye Khaye” meaning house cleaning, bathing and eating and then the next day, known as “Kharna” where a large number of devotees observe a daylong fast and do not drink even water.

“Chhath festival is considered a symbol of cleanliness, devotion, cordial relationship and goodwill among people. It is the only time when the setting sun is celebrated for its glory as the cycle of birth starts with death,” explains Sanjana Kumari, a worshipper.

Even the markets are stocked with all that is required for performing puja. Fruit was specially brought from the eastern parts of India like jack fruit, sweet lemon, pineapple, turmeric and sugarcane. Even sweet shops

New Delhi, November 4
A 45-year-old assistant commandant of Rajasthan Armed Constabulary (RAC) allegedly committed suicide by shooting himself with a service pistol at Chanakyapuri in the afternoon today. He was posted with the 12th battalion of RAC.

Mahender Singh, a native of Bharatpur, was found dead on a chair with the pistol in his right hand when the police broke open the door of his room at battalion camp in the afternoon.

A suicide note found in the room said that he failed to perform his duty towards his family, parents and siblings and was thus putting an end to his life. The note said that no one was to be blamed for his death.

“He reached the battalion camp around noon and asked for his service pistol. He said that he wanted to get accustomed to the weapon as he was about to leave for training soon. A little later he retired to his room saying that he was not feeling well. When he did not open the door for long, a constable peeped through the window and found him lying on the chair with blood oozing out of his temple. The matter was informed to senior officers and a call was made to the

Commandant Janardhan Sharma said: “He has fired a single shot. It appears to be a case of suicide. The police are investigating the matter to ascertain the reason. His family has been informed about his death.”

Singh had joined the Rajasthan police in 1983 and was transferred to the RAC a couple of months ago.

New Delhi, November 4
Delhiites today had a unique rendezvous with one of their favourite sets of entertainers—the Mickey Mouse and friends, namely Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto and Donald Duck, when “The Mickey Mouse Show” offered a lovely treat to all at Siri Fort Auditorium.

This special treat, wrapped with a Bollywood surprise, was an amazing experience, with Disney citizens dressed in Indian attire hitting the dance floor to the beats of famous Bollywood numbers like Nagada, nagada.

The excited audience was swaying to the magical and power-packed rendition of the much-loved Disney beings. In fact, the reverberating hall filled with fun-filled audience, both young and old, was a perfect setting for the premier of Roadside Romeo, a recently released Hindi movie.

Six more shows will be held in the next two days. The live show would head to Mumbai in the later part of November.

The magical air of Disney is gradually getting hold of the young minds in India, and in order to cater to the ever-changing tastes of kids, there were many stalls of various companies like Bajaj Electricals, China Forge, Portico, HM International, Nerolac Home Stylers, which had displayed many items.

Mahesh Sahmat, country head of Walt Disney Company (Indai) Ltd. said, “We plan to build a family entertainment company in India through the contemporary characters of the Disney land.”

New Delhi, November 4
The Chhath Puja has came as an occasion for various political parties to woo voters of
Poorvanchal, particularly of Bihar for the assembly elections in Delhi. This is for the first time this religious occasion has come just before the assembly elections.

A devotee said that he had seen leaders of political parties for the first time at a puja venue. This festival is celebrated by people of Poorvanchal particularly,
Biharis. They are the deciding factor in various assembly constituencies. They dominate the
trans-Yamuna area. They want to translate their visit into votes, he said.

The Chief Minister described the Chhath festival as an important festival of prosperity and joy. This is an occasion to worship the Sun, to nurture social and cultural values of Poorvanchalis settled in the Capital city. This festival also helps cementing social bonds apart from disseminating the message of brotherhood.

Prof Vijay Kumar Malhotra offered prayer to the Sun god. He visited various ghats and participated in a Chhath Puja programme.

He expressed his displeasure for not declaring holiday by the Delhi government on Chhath
Puja. The Congress government has given stepmotherly treatment towards
Poorvanchalies, he said.

Greater Noida, November 4
The Greater Noida Authority has announced much relief to the people here. The board meeting yesterday approved a number of proposals. Hostels, colleges and issues connected with land compensation were approved.

The GNIDA has released Rs 431 crore for compensation to farmers of Ghori Bachhera village within a week. The board meeting approved the proposal for setting up the most hi-tech super specialty hospital in the area. A seven-acre piece of land has also been identified for building flats for the people of economically weaker sections. Each flat will be offered to the EWS for Rs 1.75 lakh a unit.

GNIDA CEO Pankaj Agarwal said a super speciality hospital will for the first time provide modern medical facilities. This will be the first hospital of its type in the state which will include bio-technology, neurology, orthotransplants, plastic surgery, treatment for cancer, burn unit, etc.

GNIDA will set up this hospital at a cost Rs 150 crore. By June 2009, the administration block of hospital would be completed while full hospital will become functional by 2010.

This super speciality hospital will be provided with a two-tier parking for 1800 cars.

Faridabad, November 4
Activists of the Akhil Bharthiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Indian National Students’ Organisation
(INSO), the student wings of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the

INLD, respectively, today burnt the effigy of Chief Minster Bhupinder Singh Hooda here at B.K.Chowk to protest the killing of students by the police at Bhiwani a couple of days ago.

Activists of the two organisations, who are electoral partners in the state, blamed the Haryana police of acting in the most inhumane manner. The protesters claimed that the sequel of event clearly showed that the police intentionally fired at the students. The police personnel in Haryana had become most irresponsible and the officers and lower staff seem to have no fear of the government, they alleged.

The administration, meanwhile, increased the presence of the police in Faridabad, especially around the colleges to prevent any untoward incident.

A police official said that although the incident at Bhiwani was unfortunate, the activists of the two organisations were acting at the behest of their political masters who were trying to fish in troubled waters.

New Delhi, November 4
The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee’s ex-servicemen cell today demanded that the Centre should constitute a separate defence pay commission for serving defence personnel and to resolve issues of their pension and other welfare measures, said chairman of the cell, Major Dr T. C. Rao (retd).

A delegation of the DPCC’s ex-servicemen cell met defence minister A. K. Antony and asked for parliamentary legislation to ensure 100 per cent rehabilitation of the armed forces, state police forces and paramilitary forces who retires at an early age, he said.

New Delhi, November 4
Bollywood stars and celebrated sportspersons would cheer hundreds of senior citizens participating in the Harmony Senior Citizens Run here on November 9. They include Kajol and Ajay Devgan, bronze medalist of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games Sushil Kumar and Asian gold medallist Rajiv Tomar.

Organised by Harmony for Silvers Foundation, an organisation that works for the improvement of life of senior citizens, the 4-km run will be flagged off from Satya Sadan Marg.